This year not only marks four decades of mountain biking, it’s also Haibike’s twentieth anniversary. Based in Bavaria’s Schweinfurt, this mid-sized brand have played a pivotal role in the development of eMTBs. In fact, you could argue they’re responsible for what can be seen as the greatest innovation since mountain bikes were created. After diving into the history books of the brand, we’ve become incredibly taken with one particular person: Susanne Puello, CEO of Haibike, who along with husband Felix has taken the brand on its brave upward trajectory.

Susanne Puello is a woman who knows what she wants – and exactly how to get it. But as one of a minority of prominent females within the bike industry, she’s perhaps the only one who can retell the story of such success over the last two decades – or, more specifically, the last six years. The scenes at the Haibike stand at EUROBIKE 2010 have imprinted themselves on Susanne’s memory, and come fifty years she’ll still remember them. It was shortly after the event opened that a real sense of excitement grew around the stand. The German brand were unveiling two E-MTBs and an E-Trekking bike, with their ePerformance attributes causing quite a stir.

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No such thing as “can’t”

There’s a saying that originates from Germany’s Franconia, the same region in Bavaria as Haibike, that goes as follows: “Des kannst net machn, weil des geht einfach net” – except it’s said in such a strong accent that it translates roughly as “You can’t do it, it’s not possible.” Yet, despite Haibike’s roots in Schweinfurt, this saying doesn’t resonate with the brand. Instead of following conventional boundaries and categories, Haibike are known to challenge, confront, and confound – with Susanne Puello leading the charge. Responsible for the brand’s earliest forays into E-MTBs, or ePerformance as they call it, Susanne was key in developing their concepts, and proudly launched the black and white full-suspension eQ XDURO alongside the e-hardtail and the e-trekking bike, hoisting them on steel ropes above their stand at EUROBIKE 2010. “The opinions of journalists and industry trade fair visitors weren’t all that important to me,” she explains. “They thought we were mad anyway. But when it came to the public, well, they hung around the bike like bunches of grapes – and they got it straightaway.”

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Shake up the industry

Seen retrospectively, Haibike’s success stems back to one fairly simple idea: they were using a Bosch motor that had been designed primarily for use on the underside of the frame – but the Bavarian brand rotated it upwards, turning not just the motor on its head but the entire industry. Instead of lying vulnerably on the underside of the bike, the power pack was now securely integrated into the frame and protected from trail debris. It sparked a flurry of success that Haibike hadn’t counted on: the initial pre-order of 2,000 bikes was rapidly doubled, and all sold out.

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A genetic affiliation with bikes

Susanne grew up in a family where the passion for bikes is threaded into their DNA. Her great-grandfather, Engelbert Wiener, first founded a small bike-manufacturing company in Schweinfurt in the early 1900s, which grew into the Winora Group. After Susanne’s school results didn’t quite satisfy the entry standards to study agricultural sciences, she embarked on an apprenticeship in the family company. As she rotated through various departments, her aptitude for sales sprang forward, and it’s still one of Haibike’s most valued assets – particularly when the brand asked retailers to trust them when it came to the launch of their E-MTBs.

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A female Steve Jobs

One of the most repeated phrases spoken by the co-founder of Apple is “Stay hungry, stay foolish,” but you could just as easily imagine Susanne Puello uttering this. Since 1993 she’s been in charge of the Winora Group, maneuvering the company through stormy times and two sell-offs – first to Derby Cycle, and then to the Accell Group. Just three years after stepping up to the management role, she and her husband Felix set up the brand Haibike with the aim of positioning themselves in the premium segment of the market. Our forays into their history books dug out this frayed 1997 catalogue, which plays on the translation of Hai as shark:

“Hai Fans,
Scales in front of your eyes – here comes the Hai! Hai-bike – the far-out thrill machine! Unforgivingly good, uncompromisingly Hai-end! …. The end result is Hai-end – what else? From the unsurpassable eXTRas from the land of smiles and the pufferfish right through to the ultimate Hai-tech suspension from Bavaria (the measure of all things!), we’ve beached everything that’s worth it! Warning: Hai costs! But once you’ve had a taste of Hai, you’ll stay high. And those who are Hai are happy!”

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“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

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They’ve since erased the hyphen from their name, as well as the Hai on the top tubes. However, the family-run company has kept a firm hold on the cutting-edge spirit that shaped its earliest days, and they’ve retained the same familial atmosphere for their 350 employees. If you were looking for more similarities between Susanne and Steve Jobs, both individuals can look back at a host of industry-leading firsts: the first 29er E-MTB, the first eRoad bike, the first E-MTB with electronic suspension, the first carbon full-suspension E-MTB, the first eFat-bike, the first E-downhill bike and the first electronic system to create smarter ePerformance bikes with their eConnect. The list goes on, and Haibike’s drive to innovate is surely kindled by the ambition spearheaded by Susanne. So, in the words of Steve Jobs once more: “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

And on that note, we’re excited to see what Haibike will produce next. Congratulations on the twentieth birthday of the company, and here’s to more groundbreaking decades! Cheers!

For more information about Haibike head to haibike.com

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Words: Photos: Christoph Bayer, Haibike